As in every industry, advertising and marketing play a key role in customer development and loyalty. The car washing industry is no different in its need to convey information to the customer. Car wash establishments generally use either a conveyor type or non-conveyor type of car wash. The conveyor type involves the use of a mechanism that moves the automobile forward inside of a controlled washing space whilst its cousin, the non-conveyor type does not have such a device. It relies on the driver moving the car or the washing equipment moving over a stationary car. In either a conveyor or non-conveyor type, there exists a need for a foam, wax or soap application device to cleanse and polish the vehicle.
These car washing soap, foam or wax application devices are typically mounted directly above the vehicle windshield. The soap, foam or wax is applied to the surface of the windshield whether in the conveyor or the non-conveyor type. In either type of car wash, the chance to offer clients new opportunities or engage them with new services enhances user experience and business reputation. In the car wash industry, there is a known existing solution for communications that attempt to garner a user's attention.
Typically, a back lit sign box conveys messages to customers in the hopes of providing advertising and promotional space. However, this system has been shown to be ineffective in that it tries to command a user's attention without clearly displaying the aforementioned messages. This is because one of the many problems with this form of communication is that while receiving a car wash, the customer's ability to clearly view the environment outside of the vehicular window is limited by either soap, cleansing chemicals or equipment. Another disadvantage to the existing communications method is that changing the message is cumbersome and costly.
Accordingly, there remains a need to permit a car washing business to clearly and effectively communicate advertising, promotional and other messages to the customer while the customer's vision is impaired by the effect of a soapy windshield. Additionally, a user must be able to inexpensively and easily change the message being conveyed to the driver or occupant of the car.